"This is unlike any recent work I know of. It offers a challenging,
often refreshing, and what will certainly be a controversial
assessment of classical Athenian democracy and its significance to
modern America. Samons is willing to tread where few other
classicists are willing to go in print. He reminds readers that the
Athenian democracy offers just as many negative lessons as positive
ones, and topics like the popular vote, the dangers of state
payments to individual citizens, the naturally acquisitive foreign
policy of democratic governments, and the place of religion in
democracy all come up for discussion and criticism. Samons has
written an original and very provocative book."--James Sickinger,
author of "Public Records and Archives in Classical Athens"
"Professor Samons' lively and challenging account of ancient Athens
raises important questions about democracy, ancient and modern. It
will surely arouse keen interest and debate."--Donald Kagan, author
of "The Peloponnesian War"
"In this elegantly written, carefully researched, and perceptive
book, Samons presents a penetrating analysis of ancient Athenian
democracy's dark sides. His book is as much about the errors and
weaknesses of our own political system as it is about those of
ancient Athens. Whether or not we agree with his critique and
conclusions, this book is not merely thought-provoking: it is
annoyingly discomforting, forcing us to re-examine firm beliefs and
to discard easy solutions."--Kurt A. Raaflaub, author of "Discovery
of Freedom in Ancient Greece"
"In this marvelously unfashionable book, Samons debunks much of
what passes in the current-day academy as scholarship on classical
Athens, demonstratingthat it is an ideologically-driven apology for
a radically defective form of government. In the process, he casts
light on the perspicacity of America's founding fathers and on the
unthinking populism that threatens in our own day to ruin their
legacy."--Paul A. Rahe, author of "Republics Ancient and Modern:
Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution"
"We are in the greatest age of democracy since antiquity and in the
most need of guidance about the wisdom of government by majority
vote. Precisely for that reason Professor Samons offers a bold and
unbridled look at the nature and history of democracies, ancient
and modern. He reminds us that we are capable of doing as much evil
as good when constitutional protections and republican oversight
are not there to moderate the instant desires of the majority. This
is an engaging, provocative, and timely study of ancient Athens and
modern America that should serve as a cautionary reminder to both
romantic scholars and zealous diplomats."--Victor Davis Hanson,
author of "The Other Greek"s
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